Kitty Makes Up Her Mind
by Zanza8
Summary: Festus Haggen is new in Dodge and Kitty is not sure how she feels about him until an incident in the Longbranch.


Kitty was working on her ledger at a back table in the Longbranch when she heard a jingle of spurs and Festus came through the swinging doors. She put down her pen and regarded him silently. She had mixed feelings about the hillman. He had come to town twice in the past year and both times there had been serious trouble. First it had been Sarah Guthrie. Her father Nate had been stealing cattle and selling the meat to Fort Dodge, and Festus had given Sarah a terrible scare trying to hide her when she went out to his camp. Of course, that wouldn't have happened if Nate hadn't taken Matt to the hilllman's camp because he wanted the marshal to find the cowhides he had planted there to frame Festus for rustling. Kitty knew Festus wouldn't have laid a hand on Sarah if he hadn't panicked at seeing the men ride up, and she also knew he had been kind to Sarah after her father was killed by his partner Rolly Wendt. Sarah left town to live with her aunt thinking Festus was wonderful.

Then there had been the Easterner that skinned Festus and his friend Bucko Taos in a poker game. The man had been stabbed to death and when Bucko was convicted of the murder and sentenced to hang, Festus broke him out of jail. It was true Bucko had been framed for the murder, and Festus had saved his life and even taken Pop Shiller home to keep him out of jail. Matt had been so angry with Pop for lying at Bucko's trial he wanted him convicted for perjury. Festus had talked him out of arresting the man and Pop was back running his little gin mill within a week. Matt liked the hillman, and for Matt's sake she was always courteous and even stocked Tow's Lightning, a raw corn whiskey no one but Festus would touch. Kitty sighed. Perhaps she was being unfair. Festus might be rough and wild, but he did seem to have a good heart. Matt had thought so from the beginning...

_Matt was at Delmonico's with Kitty, telling her about the capture of Black Jack Haggen. She ate quietly, listening to his story. "I tell you, Kitty, he would have finished me off right then if it wasn't for Festus. He got the drop on him before Haggen even knew he was around."_

_ "You say this man was his uncle?"_

_ Matt nodded. "Not only that, but the Haggens are a pretty close-knit family. For a while there I wondered if he was trying to lead me off so his uncle could get away, but I guessed wrong. He was after him, all right. I believe he would have killed him if I hadn't showed up."_

_ "Because of his twin brother...what was his name again?"_

_ "Fergus."_

_ "Festus and Fergus. How did Fergus die?"_

_ "Well, I never did get the details, but apparently Fergus and Jack were on the run from a posse and Fergus got shot. Jack left him, but he made it home and told Festus what happened before he died."_

_ "Sounds like a nice family," said Kitty dryly._

_ Matt chuckled. "Well, Festus said that work isn't part of the Haggen nature." Kitty looked disgusted and he raised his eyebrows. "Kitty, I'm not going to judge Festus on what his family is like. What matters to me is that he was there when I needed him, and he stood by me all the way back. Now I'd like you to meet him. I could bring him by the Longbranch tonight."_

_ Kitty picked glumly at her food. "I'll be there."_

Festus saw Kitty when he came in and he was tempted to go and say hello to her, but she bent over her ledger again. The hillman's face fell. He liked the people he had met in Dodge City, especially the tall marshal, and he wanted to be on good terms with all of them. He was feeling a little lonely these days. As it turned out, the Haggens didn't hold that business with Uncle Jack against him but he knew he couldn't go home again. Working with Marshal Dillon had given him a look at the other side of the law, and disgraceful as it might be for a Haggen to admit it, he liked being on the right side. Well, he couldn't blame this here lady for being suspicious of him with all the trouble he'd been in, but he did wish she was a mite more friendly. He turned to the bar. "Gimme a beer, Sam."

"Coming right up." Sam had noticed Kitty's reaction and now he smiled kindly at his friend. "Where you been this time?"

Festus took a big swallow and wiped his mouth. "Trappin'. Tuck me a mess of furs."

"Any wolves?"

Festus grinned and shook his head. "Nope. I'm out of the wolfin' bizness for good and all."

A big man dressed in buckskins pushed through the doors and sprawled against the bar, pounding on it and startling Kitty out of her reverie. "C'mon, barkeep, bring me a jug!" Sam took the man a bottle of whiskey and he pulled the cork with his teeth and spit it out. The corners of Kitty's mouth turned down. Festus used to do that. She remembered the first time she met him...

_That night when Matt came into the Longbranch, he had the hillman with him and they went straight to Kitty's table. "Kitty, this is Festus Haggen."_

_ Kitty inspected the man. He had been in town for a couple of days now and had taken the time to bathe and shave and change his clothes, so he wasn't as scruffy as she had been expecting. In fact, he was very good-looking, with glossy dark hair and soft hazel eyes. He smiled at her and took off his hat. "Ma'am."_

_ Kitty smiled back, exquisitely polite. "Mr Haggen, I want to thank you for all you've done. Matt means a lot to the people around here."_

_ Matt sat down and pulled out another chair. "Have a seat, Festus."_

_ Festus sensed Kitty's reserve. "That's all right, marshal. I'll just get me a bottle and be on my way. I don't like to leave April for too long."_

_ "How's she doing?"_

_ "Well, she ain't never been to town before, but she likes it fine, 'specially now she knows she ain't in no trouble. I do want to thank you for goin' easy on her. She just didn' know what she wuz doin', the little ninny." He nodded to Kitty. "It wuz a pure pleasure meetin' you, ma'am." Festus put his hat back on and strolled over to the bar._

_ "Buy you a drink?" Matt asked. _

_ Kitty nodded towards the bar. "What about your friend?" _

_ The marshal looked around. "Festus? He's fine where he is." He turned back to her. "What do you think of him now?"_

_ "He's very handsome."_

_ Matt was exasperated. "Is that all?"_

_ Kitty shrugged and smiled wryly. "You know that old saying about handome is as handsome does. Maybe I'm having trouble getting past what you told me about him. I know you like him, Matt, but do you honestly think you could ever trust him if he didn't have a personal stake in what you were doing?"_

_ Matt sat back. "I hadn't thought about it, Kitty. You know, he paid for a funeral for his uncle. And that girl, April. He didn't have to worry about her, but he's been taking care of her too."_

_ "I'll bet he has."_

_ "It's not like that." Kitty gave Matt a look and he flushed. "Well, maybe it is, but it's not __just__ that. He cares about people."_

_ "And you know this because..."_

_ "I can tell." The marshal was getting an edge to his voice. "Women aren't the only ones who have intuition, you know. Festus is a good man."_

_ Kitty looked rueful. "If you feel that way about him, I guess we'll find out."_

"More whiskey!" The buffalo hunter had drained the bottle and was pounding the bar again. This time Sam looked over at Kitty and she frowned and shook her head. Kitty had strong objections to trouble in her place and at the rate that hunter was pouring down whiskey, he was very likely to start trouble.

He noticed the interplay between her and Sam and glared at her. "What's the matter, lady? I saw you give him the nod. What do you care how much I drink?"

Kitty stood up. "I own this place, mister, and I'd say you had enough to drink."

The hunter smiled nastily. "Really?"

Kitty smiled back. "Yes, really. Why don't you take a break and have something to eat and come back?"

"What if I don't want to go?"

Sam took out his shotgun and cocked it and the hunter froze. "The lady asked you to leave, mister."

The hunter turned around slowly. "All right, barkeep. I'm going." He started past Sam, then grabbed the shotgun by the barrel and pulled hard. Before the bartender could react, the man grabbed him by the hair and smashed his face on the bar. Sam slid out of sight as his attacker drew a knife. Festus moved forward and he waved the knife at him. "You want some of this?" he growled.

The hillman spread his hands. "Not me, mister. I just want to get out of here." The hunter's lip curled and he motioned towards the door, then turned back to Kitty. She clutched the edge of the table, her knees weak. The man started for her and Festus leaped on him.

Kitty ran for the bar. "Sam, are you all right?" she gasped.

Sam sat up dizzily and she steadied him as he shook his head. "I think so." He picked up the shotgun and fired it into the ceiling, but the fight was already over. The hunter lay on the floor, his knife jammed to the hilt in his chest. Next to him Festus was shivering with shock, his hand pressed to his side. Sam got to his feet and laid the shotgun on the bar, then went to the hillman and helped him into a chair.

"I'd say we need some bandages, Miss Kitty," said Sam.

"I'd say we need Doc," she answered, looking at Festus with concern. A deep cut was gushing blood and a pool was gathering under his chair. The floor was slick with blood and Kitty felt a chill as she realized that most of it belonged to Festus.

"I'll go," said the bartender. He left and Kitty tried to stop the bleeding.

"That was a brave thing you did," she said to the hillman as she held a bar towel to his side.

He was white to the lips, but he smiled at her. "You didn't really think I would leave you to that yahoo, did you, ma'am?"

She smiled back. "I was too scared to think." The bar towel was already soaked with blood and she prayed Doc would hurry. She grabbed another towel and laid it on the first one. It, too, reddened in a moment. Festus was swaying in the chair. Then his eyes rolled up in his head and he crashed to the floor. Doc ran in and knelt by the wounded man, removing the bloody towels. "I tried to stop the bleeding," said Kitty.

"That's good, Kitty." The old man opened his bag. By the time he finished stitching and bandaging, Sam had returned and some of the townspeople, drawn by the commotion, had drifted in. Doc motioned to a couple of them. "All right, let's get him up to my office." They picked Festus up and carried him out.

"I'm going with him," said Kitty to Sam. She left the Longbranch and followed the men upstairs. They laid the hillman on Doc's examining table and were slowly leaving when she came in. Doc took his wrist to check his pulse, frowned, checked the pulse in the neck, then got out his stethoscope. He laid the stethoscope down and turned away and Kitty asked anxiously, "Doc?"

The old man dropped into a chair, his head bent. "Nothing I can do."

"Oh, no!"

"He's lost too much blood. His heart's failing. It's a hell of a thing, isn't it? The first time I ever treat him and he's going to die."

Kitty went to Festus and took his hand. It was icy cold and his face had an oddly peaceful look. She spoke without turning. "Doc, there's got to be something." There was no answer and she looked around to see the old man staring into space. "Doc? Doc!"

"I was just thinking...if only I could do a blood transfusion."

"A what?"

"It's a procedure where blood is taken from a healthy person and put into a person who has lost too much blood."

"I've never heard of it."

"Very likely not. It's almost never done. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, and nobody knows why. When it works, it's like pouring the life back into a person. When it doesn't..." He stopped and ran his hand over his face.

"Well?"

"When it doesn't, it kills them." The hillman's breathing was growing labored and Doc listened to his heart again. "It could be any time now. I'd chance it if there was somebody to give him some blood."

"I'll do it."

"Oh, no. You're a woman."

"Does that matter?"

Doc looked thoughtful. "I don't know."

"Look, Doc, we don't have time to go around town trying to find somebody. I'm just as strong and twice as sober as any man you're likely to run across."

Doc looked down at the dying man, then into Kitty's determined eyes. He nodded, making up his mind.

"Doc, I feel dizzy."

"Then we won't take any more." The old man clamped off the tube that ran from the needle in Kitty's arm, removed it, and bandaged her up.

She sat up. "Did it work?"

Doc removed the needle from the hillman's arm and bandaged the small hole. He was smiling broadly as he held his patient's wrist. "Pulse is stronger, he's got some color back...I'll say it did. You've got good blood, Kitty."

Kitty reached out and touched Festus' hand. It was warm again and she seemed to feel that warmth in her heart. Then he opened his eyes. "Ma'am?" His voice was weak but steady, and she smiled at him.

"It's Kitty to you, Festus."

Festus looked around and saw Doc. He tried to sit up and the old man restrained him. "Take it easy, Festus. How do you feel?"

The hillman closed his eyes. "Like I couldn't whup a weak kitten." His eyes popped back open. "What happened? I remember bein' in the Longbranch, and that ugly feller with the knife..." He saw the bandage on Kitty's arm and his eyes grew big with alarm. "Did he hurt you after all, Miss Kitty?"

Kitty laughed through the tears in her eyes. "No, Festus, he didn't hurt me. In fact, I think he may have introduced me to one of the best friends a girl could ever have."

Matt, Kitty, Sam, Doc and Festus waited expectantly as the waiters in Delmonico's dimmed the lights and brought out a big white cake. As they lit the candles, Festus said softly, "Miss Kitty, I want to thank you for invitin' me to yore birthday party."

"And I want to thank you for saving my life."

Festus looked down at the table. "Doc tells me we're even there. Yore a mighty brave woman."

Kitty shook her head at him, then leaned against Matt as everybody started to sing.

_Happy birthday to you,_

_Happy birthday to you,_

_Happy birthday, dear Kitty,_

_Happy birthday to you._

Kitty beamed. She started to cut the cake but Matt stopped her. "Somebody else has a song for you, Kitty." She looked puzzled as Festus got to his feet and cleared his throat, then spellbound as his deep rich baritone voice poured out a melody she hadn't heard for many years.

_I'll take you home again, Kathleen,  
>Across the ocean wild and wide<br>To where your heart has ever been  
>Since first you were my blushing bride.<br>The roses all have left your cheek.  
>I've watched them fade away and die.<br>Your voice is sad when e'er you speak,  
>And tears bedim your loving eyes.<br>Oh, I will take you back, Kathleen,  
>To where your heart will feel no pain,<br>And when the fields are fresh and green  
>I'll take you to your home again.<em> 

Kitty's eyes were shining as he sat back down. "Oh, Festus, that was wonderful! I didn't know you could sing like that." He blushed and she went on. "I suppose Matt told you my real name is Kathleen?" He nodded. "Only my best friends know my real name."

"Well, Matthew heerd me singin' that time in the jailhouse with Bucko, and he asked could I sing this song you liked..." Kitty cut him off.

"Like I said, only my best friends know my real name." She leaned over and kissed his bristly cheek, then turned her attention to Matt. Embarrassed, Festus busied himself with his cake, then laid down the fork. Matt and Kitty had their heads together over a single plate, Sam was downing his fourth glass of champagne, and Doc was scooping some extra frosting onto his cake. Festus took a deep breath and pain stabbed from the half-healed wound in his side.

Doc noticed him flinch. "All right there, Festus?"

The hilllman smiled. "Sure thing, Doc. Fact is, I'm feelin' better than I have for a really long time."


End file.
